India defeated Pakistan thrice in Asia Cup 2025, including in the final in Dubai.
The Asia Cup 2025 happened months after the Pahalgam terrorist attack that claimed multiple lives. This resulted in India launching Operation Sindoor, hitting multiple air bases in Pakistan. There were a lot of calls for India to boycott the Asia Cup tournament.
However, the Indian government gave India the green signal to play the Asia Cup, and India defeated Pakistan thrice in the tournament, including in the final in Dubai. Ahead of the first game, it was decided that Indian players would not shake hands with Pakistani players, and neither did India captain Suryakumar Yadav do so with Pakistan’s Salman Ali Agha.
India also refused to take the Asia Cup trophy from PCB and ACC chief, and Pakistan minister Mohsin Naqvi, and has yet to receive the trophy to date.
Pakistan has boycotted its T20 World Cup 2026 match against India in Colombo on February 15. Pakistan is set to open its T20 World Cup on February 7 against the Netherlands, and ahead of the match, Salman Ali Agha attended the pre-match presser.
His interaction was filled with queries about the match against India. He was asked about the Indian team’s actions of no handshake in the Asia Cup.
When asked whether he was hurt seeing the actions of the Indian team in the Asia Cup, Agha replied, “We don't really feel hurt or anything like that. But, yeah, for the game it is not good. I can say that, like, with my chest open. Like, for the game, these things obviously should not happen. And me, growing up as a kid, always have seen people doing what was required for the game to be improved.”
“And I think by doing that, we, to some extent, are role models. We don't do that. Because if you do that, then kids are going to pick up this and tomorrow, like, they are going to do the same things. So, I think these things should not happen. Because if you think role models, I think role models don't do this stuff,” he told reporters in Colombo on Friday.
Pakistan cannot afford to make a mistake in the three games left against the Netherlands, the USA, and Namibia since the outcome of the match against India is on the line. Agha asserted that the squad is taking each game as it comes and that there is no pressure on them.
“No, no, there is no pressure at all because whenever you come to an ICC tournament, you have to win almost all of your games. And when we came here, we thought that we would win all the games and give our best in all the games. In the same way, we will try to give our best in the games that we play.
Weather is not in our control; it is something we cannot control at all, so talking about it and - as a team, we do not talk about it. And the thing that is not in control, there is no point in controlling it. And we only think about how to win the three matches that we have. Now, how the weather will be, how it will not be, we have to deal with it. But we do not think much about it,” Agha said.
Pakistan has been placed in Group A with India, the Netherlands, the USA, and Namibia.
(PTI inputs)